Kamala Harris' identity as a biracial woman is either a strength or a weakness, depending on who you ask

Who is Kamala Harris?

Although Harris has led a really public political life for many years, speculation about who exactly she is and what she stands for has been circulating on social media platforms and in news reports for several years.

Many of those discussions give attention to the historic character of Harris' presidential candidacybecause she is a lady of mixed race, Jamaican-Indian, with no biological children, and was born to 2 immigrants in Oakland, California.

As I even have written about Harris' biracial identity, some have asked how authentically her black or Asian identities. Interest in Harris' family background and race was reignited on July 31, 2024, when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump falsely claimed that Harris had misled voters about her racial and ethnic identity.

“I didn't know she was black until she accidentally became black a few years ago and now wants to be known as black. So, I don't know, is she Indian or is she black?Trump asked during an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago.

With this statement, Trump linked to the long history of racism in America, where some whites defined racial categories and monitored racial boundaries.

More than 33 million Americans discover as biracial and doubtless see themselves in Harris's complex background. But many Republicans are also attempting to Harris' identity against them.

For ardent Trump supporters, Harris seems to represent every thing they oppose, including woke politics and “control of the Democrats by People who do not have children,” said Trump’s running mate JD Vance.

For the Democrats, Harris represents the multi-ethnic and feminist way forward for the USA.

This implies that what people take into consideration Harris depends more on the party they wish to vote for than on who the Democratic presidential candidate really is.

Harris and her many premieres

Many political observers and Voters agree The Harris has breathed recent life into joined the Democratic Party precisely because she is a black South Asian woman. Many Asian American, Black, Latino and feminine voters see in Harris elements of themselves: the appreciation of their ethnic cultures, her achievements as an individual of color, and her unprecedented and groundbreaking role model function as a lady of color running as a serious party candidate for the very best office within the land.

A Variety of fundraising meetings In July and August, every thing revolved across the identity of those that support Harris.

Black women for HarrisBlack men for Harris, white women for Harriswhite guys for Harris, South Asians for HarrisLGBTQ+ people for Harris and others have all gathered in Zoom meetings attended by tens of hundreds of participants – considered one of them even had a record-breaking 200,000 participantsThese online meetings have in common raised greater than $15 million for Harris.

The number and variety of individuals supporting Harris shows that she has widespread appeal. Harris' white male supporters – a key Democratic voting bloc – also show that Harris's candidacy is inclusive of many alternative people.

Inclusiveness could possibly be a key word in Harris' campaign, especially in contrast to that of her rival. Comments on childless female cats has spawned countless memes exploit the resentment by individuals who recognize the insensitivity and ignorance of such a remark.

Harris' supporters responded to Republican criticism of her and turned it into positive political memes It celebrates her identity and testifies to Harris' popularity amongst a younger, media-savvy electorate.

Use Harris' identity against her

Meanwhile, Republicans are questioning Harris' qualifications precisely due to her ethnic and racial identity and are calling her a “DEI” candidate, a reference to the term “diversity, equity and inclusion.” exact definitions of DEI may varybut within the workplace or school, it could appear to be treating everyone equally and fostering a culture where all people feel welcome, no matter their background or identity. DEI policies are meant to answer the historical oppression that marginalized people have faced.

When the scholar Susan Harmeling recently wrote“The term 'DEI hiring' actually implies that only heterosexual, white men are qualified for such high leadership positions.”

Some within the GOP have renamed the DEI acronym “I don’t deserve it.“ US Representative. Tim Burchett and Harriet Hageman both have denigrated Harris as DEI employeeHageman goes a step further and says Harris is “intellectually simply at the bottom end of the barrel.”

The gender factor

Harris is the second presidential candidate of a serious party after Hillary Clinton's candidacy in 2016. So far, Harris doesn’t appear to be faced with the constant query of whether Women are suited to leadership, as Clinton once did.

But Harris was confronted with each sexist and racist comments, especially on the Internet. A study from 2021 found that 78% of derogatory sexist and racist comments on Twitter (now called X) in November and December 2020 were directed against Harris.

Some Republicans have continued to make sexist attacks on Harris during this election campaign. July 3, 2024, social media post, Jackson Lahmeyerthe leader of the group Pastors for Trump, called Harris a “whore” or a whore, quoting a right-wing meme from “Joe and the Ho.”

Christian Nationalist Lance Wallnau took to social media on July 22 to explain Harris as a representative of the “spirit of Jezebel.” Other conservative experts have claimed that Harris slept to the highestShe cited her early relationship with Willie Brown, a outstanding Democratic politician from San Francisco and later speaker of the California State Assembly, as the rationale for her success.

This false story about Harris' romantic past is consistent with old Stereotypes about promiscuous black womenhas its roots within the rape of black women by white slave owners during slavery before the Civil War.

And the tactic of questioning Harris' true ethnic background could apply not only to Harris, but to just about all people of mixed race.

Nevertheless, there are Millions of Americans who discover as multiracial and see their very own story in Harris.